Waste not, want not

With food prices expected to continue to rise through 2016, experts say there’s one way people can save money: waste less.

“We are throwing out huge amounts of food,” says Michael von Massow, a professor at the University of Guelph.

“We don’t like to think about it, we don’t like to admit it, but if we pay attention and think about it we can reduce that, which means we’d have to buy less and we wouldn’t be feeling these price increases as much.”

The university’s Food Institute predicted in a December report that Canadians can expect to spend an extra $345 on groceries this year, including up to 4.5 per cent more for fruits and vegetables.

When von Massow lectures on strategies to reduce food waste, he tells groups: “Many of us bring five bins or five bags of groceries home on a Saturday.